


Hoping For Forever

by Josh89



Category: Castle (TV 2009)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Imagine Lanie is late to Castle's goodbye party, One chapter will be posted every day or two until it is finished, Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Post-Season/Series 02 Finale, Post-Season/Series 02 Fix-It, Romantic Fluff, That's really the only way the end of Chapter 1 will make sense, The story is entirely finished on another site, This is going to get really sappy, This is one of the first things I ever wrote, What if Gina never showed up?, What if Kate said yes to Castle?, What-If, it's probably going to go exactly how you think, kinda OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-21 02:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21067115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: AU, Season 2 finale. Rick never invites Gina up to the Hamptons for the summer, and, after they solve the case they are working on, Kate (who has broken up with Demming), accepts the offer that he (Rick) made her earlier in the episode. How will this summer change the way they see each other?





	1. Chapter 1

Kate Beckett strode purposefully through the 12th Precinct, heading for the meeting room where the others were holding a farewell party for Rick Castle before he left to go to the Hamptons for the summer. She had broken up with Tom Demming, the handsome detective from the 12th Precinct's robbery division who had briefly been her boyfriend, when she realized that she was falling in love with Castle. And she was finally in a position to tell him how she felt.  
She couldn’t help but replay her last conversation with Tom as she walked, vividly recalling exactly what she had said to him. “Kate, is it something that I did?” he queried anxiously.  
She smiled softly at him. “No. It’s nothing to do with you. I’m sorry, but this just isn’t what I’m looking for” she replied.  
“What are you looking for?” he asked.  
Unable to reply, she just looked longingly in Castle’s direction. Would Rick even be back after the summer if he didn’t know how she felt about him? He had said he would, that this trip was only going to be for the summer, but Kate knew that sometimes, three months had the potential to turn into forever. She knew she couldn’t risk losing him, not with how she felt now. Not with what she knew he meant to her. “Goodbye, Tom”.  
“Goodbye, Kate. Take care of yourself. And of whomever you decide that you really are looking for, because they truly deserve to date someone as special as you”.  
He had walked away from her right after he had spoken those words, his last words ringing in her ears as he walked slowly towards the elevator that would take him a couple of floors down, back to the robbery division.  
-Approximately five minutes later-  
She could see Rick and the others talking through the windows of the meeting room as they ate Chinese food, and discussed their plans for the summer. Most of which involved either working or spending time with family. She hoped that Castle’s plans to work on the second Nikki Heat novel, which he had already mentioned as part of his reason for going to the Hamptons for the summer, were not completely set in stone. After all, if everything happened exactly as she hoped it would, then he might not have time to do much writing at all. Quickly pulling the door open, she stepped in, nodding as Castle stopped the story he was telling and the others greeted her, acknowledging her presence. “Castle, do you have a moment?”  
“Of course I do, Beckett. What’s up?”  
“Can I talk to you in private?”  
He nodded calmly. “Sure. Be right back, guys”  
The writer got to his feet and left the room, Beckett following closely behind him. In the corridor outside, he turned to face her. “So… what was so important that you had to speak to me in private?” he asked.  
“I just wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed working with you for the past couple of years. And… I’d really like to accept your invitation to the Hamptons, if it’s still open”  
“What about your plans to spend the summer with Detective Demming?”  
“I broke up with him. I guess he just wasn’t what I was really looking for. So, is your offer to join you for the summer still open?”  
“Of course. If you’re absolutely certain you’ll survive spending the entirety of the next three months with me, I’d love for you to join me”.  
She resisted the urge to smile deviously, not really wanting to say what was on her mind at the time. Oh, I’m sure I’ll survive the next three months. But, the question is, will you… she thought. “Oh, I’ll manage. What time do we leave?”  
“I’ll pick you up at your apartment at three tomorrow afternoon?” he suggested.  
She considered this. It would give her enough time to have a nice hot bath, get packed, and have a good night’s sleep before they left. “Yeah, that sounds good to me. Gives me enough time to get ready. Will Alexis and your mother be joining us up there?”  
“Only for Memorial Day weekend. The rest of the summer, it’ll just be us”  
She smirked. “Sounds like fun”  
After stepping briefly into the room to tell the others that she had officially broken up with Tom Demming and decided to accept Castle’s invitation to join him in the Hamptons for the summer after all, Kate excused herself and headed for the elevator. It was best that she shared this information with Lanie before anyone else did. Her friend had been telling her from the start that Richard Castle would be ‘good for her’, but until now… she’d refused to even consider the possibility of a relationship with him. And besides, she was probably going to need help deciding what to take with her. Since, after all, she was going away with her favorite author for three whole months. This was definitely going to be an interesting summer…


	2. Chapter 2

-The next day-  
The quiet knocking at the door of her apartment brought Kate from her thoughts, and she glanced at her watch. Almost exactly 3:00 in the afternoon… Damn good timing. “Beckett, you ready to go?” Rick queried.  
She opened the door, smiling slightly at him. “Just about ready, Castle. Let me just grab something. Why don’t you come in and make yourself comfortable while you wait?”  
“If that’s alright with you, I’d be glad to” he replied calmly.  
Instead of responding, she simply turned and walked into the apartment’s living room, allowing him to follow. The first thing that struck him about the room was how well-organized everything was for such a medium-sized apartment. The (quite reasonably-sized) TV was on the far side of the room, against the windows, with a simple, dark leather couch facing it. The bookcases on the wall to the right as he entered were full of books, and he was pretty sure that he could see each and every single one of the books that he himself had written on one shelf. “I knew she was a fan of my books, but even I never suspected she had every single one…” he muttered to himself.  
Had she ever actually been to one of his book signings? Come to think of it, he did remember signing a copy of one of his Derrick Storm novels for a young woman who reminded him an awful lot of a younger Kate Beckett. Definitely something he’d have to ask her about. He was disturbed by her footsteps coming back down the small hallway between the living room and her room, and he turned to see her standing only a few steps into the room, with a couple of backpacks slung over one shoulder and a simple leather suitcase clutched in one hand. “Shall we go?” she queried.  
He nodded. “Yeah, sure. Hey, just one quick question first. Could you please remind me when it was that we first met?”  
She frowned at him. “How could you forget? It was at the launch party for the final book in the Derrick Storm series, almost two years ago. I came over to you, you thought I wanted your autograph, and then I asked you if I could ask you a couple of questions about a murder. You’ve been pretty much annoying me ever since. And of course, you’re practically my best friend now” she answered.  
He shook his head. “I’m sure we met before then. I just remember signing a book in the Storm series for someone that, now that I look back on that day, reminded me a lot of a younger version of you, that’s all”.  
She gave an audible sigh, since she had been hoping that this topic of conversation would never, ever, come up between the two of them. “If I tell you, do you swear not to crow about it for the entire three months?”  
He nodded solemnly. “I swear”.  
“Fine then. It was at one of your book signings just after the release of Storm Season, at a Barnes and Noble not too far from here. I waited in line for at least an hour to get the book signed, and then, after you signed it, you said that mine was probably the first genuine smile you’d seen all day, and thanked me for coming by. Thing was that, unlike every other time you said it that day, I could tell that you actually meant it” she replied.  
Rick paused to think. "The message I signed. Was it anything like Kate. You have a beautiful smile. My advice? Let the world see it. Rick C?" he queried.  
Kate nodded, astounded. "That was exactly it. How did you remember?"   
Rick shrugged. “Because the person I wrote it for was, and still is, absolutely extraordinary. And I happen to remember extraordinary things. Anyway, I guess we had better get going. We don’t want to get caught up in traffic on the way out of New York, after all”.  
As they made their way out of the apartment, and Kate closed and locked the door behind them, she couldn’t resist one last snarky remark. “This is New York, Castle. Why wouldn’t there be traffic?”  
-A few hours later-  
Rick finally stopped the car outside a large beach house and got out, walking around to Kate’s door and opening it for her. “Here we are at last”.  
She slid out of the car, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at the building before them. “Castle, I thought you said you had a beach house. This is not a beach house. This is a beach mansion!”  
“Okay, so I may have understated the hugeness of the building. But trust me, I haven’t understated anything else” he responded calmly.  
He turned to his daughter. “Alexis, I’m going to unlock and then go get started on dinner. Can you help Beckett take her bags to her room please?”  
“Of course, dad. No problem”.  
He walked over and unlocked the door, then headed quickly into the kitchen to start preparing dinner for the four of them, listening as his daughter and Kate chatted animatedly while bringing the young detective’s bags inside. Surprisingly, it wasn’t long before he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around his waist, and Beckett’s voice whispering in his ear. “You know, Castle, we’ll be up here on our own for most of the summer, you might as well just call me Kate…” she suggested.  
“Only if you call me Rick” he answered, nodding.  
“Fine. Rick… there’s something I need to tell you”.  
He paused in his dinner preparations and turned to look at her. “Not having second thoughts about spending the whole summer with me already, are you?” he queried.  
“No. No. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the reason I accepted your offer. Remember when we were talking about the Balthazar Wolfe case and discovered that he was changing his entire image for the woman who he had discovered to be carrying his child and that he was planning to propose to her? I claimed that she should stick with the safe guy rather than the guy who made her feel alive but who she knew would eventually let her down, and you responded by saying “the heart wants what the heart wants”.  
“I remember. I always thought it was a metaphor for our relationship, to be honest. I was Wolfe, Demming was David, and you were Cecily (except without the pregnancy part)”.  
“I guess in a way it was. But the important thing is... You were right, the heart does want what the heart wants. And my heart wants you, Rick. I’m tired of lying to myself about how I feel. I’m falling in love with you…”  
His smile caught her off guard, and his next words caused her pulse to quicken and a blush to rise to her cheeks. Dammit. How the hell was he able to do that to her? “And I with you. More so then I ever anticipated I could”.  
"Do you really mean that?"  
He laughed, and she knew that that was a sound she wanted to hear every day for the rest of her life. "Always, Kate. Always".


	3. Chapter 3

“So, what happens between the two of us now, Kate?” Rick queried.  
They had just finished having dinner with Martha and Alexis, and the two of them were lying on the couch together, watching a movie. Both Alexis and Martha had excused themselves and gone to their respective rooms; Alexis to finish unpacking and then read for a few hours before turning in, and Martha to go over some scripts for her acting class. Both Rick and Kate had initially started out in sitting positions, but, over the past few minutes, Kate had shifted to make herself more comfortable, and was currently resting her head on his shoulder, one of his arms draped over her own shoulder and her long legs taking up what room was left on the couch. She smiled slightly before responding. “What do you think happens, Rick? You’re in love with me; I’m in love with you. I want to be in a relationship with you more than anything else right now, and I really hope you feel the same way”.  
He could see a flicker of doubt in her eyes, almost as if she was dreading his next words. He instantly pulled her closer to him, and leaned in, placing a quick kiss on her forehead. “Don’t ever doubt that I would want to be in a relationship with you, Kate. Because I want to, more than I have ever wanted anything before. I admit that at first it probably would have been nothing more than a one night stand, and at the time I probably wouldn’t have cared at all, but as I got to know you, and you started warming up to me, even trusting me enough to tell me about your mother… God, Kate, I fell head over heels in love with you this year. I was incredibly jealous of your relationship with Detective Demming, but I saw how happy he made you, so I held back from telling you how I really felt about you. I would do anything to make you happy, Kate. No matter what happens between the two of us, just keep that in mind. Anything”.  
Kate pushed herself up on one hand, allowing herself to meet the writer’s eyes. “Anything?”  
He nodded. “Yes. Well, except for no longer following you around, anyway”.  
“Fine. Then let me do this”.  
Whatever response he may or may not have been about to give to the young Detective was cut off by a muffled gasp as she leaned into him, pressing her lips against his in a searing kiss. Almost unconsciously, he could feel his own tongue slip past her lips, dancing inside of her mouth as he wholeheartedly returned the kiss, and, if her muffled moan was any indication, she was enjoying this just as much as he was. Once she finally pulled away, both of them were grinning like idiots. Castle found his voice first. “Wow”.  
“Good kiss” Kate mused.  
“Indeed. I definitely want to do that again. Kate Beckett, will you be my girlfriend?”  
One way or another, there’s no going back now… “I would be delighted to. Would you be my boyfriend?”  
“Thank you. And yes, Kate, I will be”.  
This time, it was him who initiated the kiss that signified the start of their new relationship. After what had felt like five whole minutes, they separated, and Castle glanced up at the TV screen on the other side of the coffee table from where they were currently seated, before glancing back at his new girlfriend. Privately, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get tired of calling her that. It was a good term, one he most definitely liked. Though of course, he couldn’t help but wonder. Would there come a day where he would be able to call her something more than just his girlfriend? He hoped there would with all his heart, being unable to think of a future that didn’t have Detective Kate Beckett (and, maybe someday, Kate Castle or Kate Beckett-Castle) in it. “The movie's finished” he observed.  
“So it has”.  
Castle quickly grabbed the remote for the DVD Player and hit the stop button, then hit the power button on the TV remote. Again, he returned his gaze to the gorgeous detective currently curled up with him on the couch. “Do you think we should head to bed ourselves?” he queried.  
“Separately or together?”  
“Separately. At least, for tonight, anyway. Once I’ve had a chance to tell Alexis and my mother about our relationship (which I shall do at some point early tomorrow), then maybe together. But for now I think its best we sleep in separate rooms” Castle replied casually.  
“I can agree with that. Good night, Rick. You’ll have to give me a full tour of the house tomorrow, I’m sure it’s just as amazing as the part that I have seen so far”.  
And with that said, she got up and began to walk towards the stairs that led up to the floor where the bedrooms were. Just as she reached the first step, she turned and looked back at the writer. “Rick?”  
“Yes?”  
“Your plans to work on ‘Naked Heat’ aren’t totally set in stone, are they?” she wondered.  
He could see her blush visibly as she asked, and he smiled at her, shaking his head. “Not at all. I’m actually mostly done with it anyway. Just one or two more chapters to write, the spellchecking to do, and the dedication and acknowledgements to come up with, and then it’ll be ready to send in. But spending time with my girlfriend is a far better use of my time. Especially since she inspires me so much…”  
She couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at the obvious double entendre. God, her new boyfriend could be such a child sometimes… “Until tomorrow, Rick”.  
“Until tomorrow”.  
With that exchange over, Kate quickly vanished up the stairs and into her room, leaving Richard Castle alone downstairs. However, as Alexis came back down from her room to get a glass of water, he wasn’t alone for long. “I still can’t believe she agreed” he said softly.  
Alexis raised an eyebrow. “She agreed to what? To come out here, to spend the summer with you, and the weekend with all three of us? Dad, everyone knows she’s in love with you. I’m shocked it took her this long to realize it, to be honest”.  
“No, that’s not what surprised me. Actually, it’s that she wants to be in a relationship with me just as badly as I want to be in one with her. That she agreed to be my girlfriend”.  
Alexis was so amazed that she almost dropped her glass. Luckily, due to the years of laser tag and fencing games she had played with her father growing up, her reflexes were fast for a girl of her age, and she was able to place the glass down carefully before it managed to slip from her hand. “The two of you are dating now? Wow, dad. That’s… Wow, that is absolutely amazing. I’m happy for you, I really am” she grinned back.  
And she really was. “Thanks. Anyway, I’m going to head to bed. ‘Night”.  
“Night, dad”.


	4. Chapter 4

Kate wasn't exactly sure what it was that woke her from what felt like the first full night's sleep she'd had in the 11 years since her mother had been killed. Maybe it was the birds chirping in the trees outside. Maybe it was the fact that she could hear the hiss of waves hitting sand. Or maybe it was just the rich aroma of coffee coming from downstairs. Wait... downstairs? "Where am I?"  
She sat up in the bed that was definitely not her own, looking around the room that was most definitely not hers. For one thing, the bed was bigger, probably at least a queen-sized as opposed to the double bed that took up most of the space of the bedroom back in her apartment. For another; since when did she have an alcove along the wall under a window that faced towards the ocean, with curtains that could be drawn if she wanted extra privacy? Since when did she even have a window that faced the ocean at all? It was then that a quiet voice at the door to her room broke her from her thoughts. "Detective Beckett?"  
She threw off the covers and got to her feet, grateful that for once she had apparently slept decently dressed (even if it was just a pair of grey sweatpants and a blue t-shirt). "Come in".  
When the door opened to allow a red-haired girl to step in, Kate realized exactly where she was, remembering that she had broken up with Detective Demming to accompany Rick (her new boyfriend, a thought that sent a thrill down her spine) to his house in the Hamptons for the summer. And that explained why everything in the room had felt so strange at first. "'Alexis, please, I told you yesterday. I'm not Detective Beckett right now, and I have no intention of being for another three months. Call me Kate".  
Alexis smiled at the older woman. "Okay, Kate. I just wanted to let you know that Grams and I are going to go grab a few things that we need for tonight. Coffee's almost ready, and my dad’s in the study putting the finishing touches on Naked Heat. He should be done soon”.  
“Thank you”.  
Alexis nodded and turned to leave, though quickly turned back, a question forming in her mind. “Actually, I do have one quick question”.  
Kate nodded. “Alright, what is it?”  
“Are you really, truly, in love with my father? Because if you aren’t, you might as well leave right now, and save him the inevitable heartbreak when he finds out”  
Kate had been expecting the question, though she was still at least somewhat surprised by the calmness with which it was posed. She met and held Alexis’s gaze without blinking, replying “Yes, I am. I love him more than I could ever hope to find words to describe. For the last ten years I’ve felt like there’s something missing from my life, and the three of you are the only ones who have really been able to make me feel whole again. Man-child persona and all, I love him with all my heart, and, if I’m absolutely honest, there is no-one that I would rather be with than him”.  
Alexis merely smiled. “Good to know. Sorry if that came out rude, it’s just…”  
Kate shook her head. “No need to apologize, Alexis. He’s your father, and you don’t want to see him get hurt again. I understand perfectly”.   
Satisfied with Kate’s response, the red-haired girl left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the detective to her thoughts as she returned downstairs, where her grandmother was waiting for her.  
-Approximately ten minutes later-  
Now downstairs, and with a cup of coffee in each hand, Kate followed the sound of fingers tapping at a keyboard into a large room. The wall-length bookshelves were lined with books, and an easy chair along the wall nearest to the desk at which her boyfriend was sitting suggested that he wasn’t always alone in the room. “Coffee, Rick?”  
He turned in his chair at the unexpected sound of her voice, a gentle smile spreading across his features as his sapphire-blue eyes met her hazel ones. “I’d love one, actually”.  
“I knew you would. So I made two”.  
He stood, gently taking both coffee cups from her and setting them down on the desk next to his laptop before pulling her into a kiss. “You know me so well. So, did you have a good sleep?”  
“Honestly?”  
“Yeah”.  
She smiled at him. “I think it was the best sleep I’ve had for years. How’re Nikki and Rook treating you?”  
“Remarkably well, actually. In fact, I just finished up the last scene as you came in. I’ll go over it again later and double-check to make sure I catch any errors before I email it to Gina, but I think I’ve earned the right to spend some time with my extraordinary girlfriend instead right now”.  
For some reason, that reminded her of the conversation she had had with Alexis only minutes ago, and made her really want to talk about it with him before things went any further. “Alexis asked me something just before they left” she said quietly.  
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what was that?”  
“She asked me how I really felt about you”.  
“And what did you tell her?” Rick asked, his tone completely neutral, unassuming, though the way his eyes danced when she looked into them told her that he already knew, or at least suspected, exactly what her answer was going to be.   
Her smile broadened, and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips before responding. “That I love you more than I could ever hope to find words to describe. For the last ten years I’ve felt like there’s something missing from my life, and I feel like I can be whole again when I’m with you. Man-child persona and all, I love you with all my heart, and there is no-one that I would rather be with”.  
Rick smiled back at her. “Good. Because I never, ever, want to let you go”.  
Kate pressed a second quick kiss to his lips before picking her coffee cup off of the desk, pulling away and grabbing his hand in her free one. “C’mon, writer-boy. Breakfast. And then we’ll see about that tour you promised me”.  
Rick paused for a second, picking up his cup from where he had set it on his desk, and nodded. “I’m right behind you”.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this story is seriously fluffy. Obviously that's no surprise to anyone who has read the last four chapters but just warning you now that things are getting fluffier and fluffier from here.

\--Two days later--  
"Do you remember the case when I received that offer to write about a certain fictional British spy?" Rick queried.  
The two of them were laying side by side on the grass out the back of the beach house, their hands linked between them as they stared into each other's eyes. Martha and Alexis had left to go back to New York earlier the day before, leaving the two of them alone for the next three months.  
"The one with the immigrant woman found dead in the manhole, where we had that argument at the launch party for Heat Wave? Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"  
Rick hesitated, sighing. "It's just that... The reason I even considered the offer in the first place was because I didn't know whether you wanted me to stay and keep working with you at the Precinct or not".  
The detective gave him a reassuring smile, placing her hand on her boyfriend's arm. "I did, Rick. So badly. But I wanted you to stay because you wanted to stay, not because you felt that you had to".  
"Which explains why you were so angry with me after those phone calls we received after we closed the case, right?" the writer queried.  
Kate nodded solemnly. "It kind of felt like you were just going through your agent, having her pull the strings that would result in you getting to stay on as my partner. I knew that you'd stay if I asked you to, I really did. But, as I said just before, I wanted you to stay because you wanted to stay, not because I wanted you to stay. If that makes sense".  
"I think it made perfect sense".  
Kate snuggled closer to him so that her head was laying on his chest, their hands still clasped together and his free hand now around her waist.  
"For the record, Kate? I wanted to stay too. But only if you wanted me to stay. That's the reason I was so worried at that point" he replied softly.  
"Oh".  
For a while after this statement neither of the two spoke. They just lay on the grass together, drawing what comfort they could from each other's proximity, from the simple ease of being in skin-to-skin contact with the person they loved the most. "You ever think about getting married again?" Kate queried eventually.  
Rick's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected question. "I can't say that the thought of getting married for a third time has never crossed my mind. Of course, I'd have to be absolutely certain that the woman I decided to propose to was the right one first".  
Like you, perhaps? Rick considered mentally, before smiling softly. "What about you? You ever think about getting married?" he added.  
Kate wasn't quite sure to respond to this question. She knew what she wanted to say, but she was concerned that, if she gave voice to them, it might lead to a discussion that she wasn't quite sure that she was ready to have with her boyfriend yet. Only if the person I'm marrying is you... she mused mentally in response.  
"Sometimes. But only if I know that the person that I end up marrying and I will be together for the rest of our lives. I'm a one and done kind of girl, Rick. You know that" she replied softly.  
Rick grinned at her correct use of grammar and leaned in, placing a tender kiss to the tip of her nose. She laughed, snuggling tighter into her boyfriend's strong chest, nuzzling her face into the space between his neck and shoulders, inhaling the scent of the cologne he was wearing. "I love the way you smell" she whispered.  
He tightened his grip on her and pulled her closer to him. She was laying practically on top of him by that point, and he marveled at the way that her hazel eyes sparkled with her love for him as they met his blue ones. "And I love absolutely everything about you, Kate" he whispered in return.  
She smacked his chest playfully, and he pretended to wince. "Sap".  
He shrugged, or at least did the most shrug-like movement he could the way their arms were currently wrapped around each other. "You love it" he pointed out.  
"You're damn right I do".  
The detective leaned in and placed a tender kiss to his lips. Before he could respond, her stomach growled, causing both the writer and his girlfriend to burst out laughing. "Hungry, are we?"  
"Hey, you were the one who suggested that we sleep through lunch" Kate protested.  
"And do I look as though I regret that?" Rick queried.  
Kate shook her head. "No".  
"Damn right I don't. Do you fancy Italian for dinner?"  
"You want to order in?" Kate queried.  
Rick chuckled in response, untangling himself carefully from his muse before helping her to her feet and heading for the door that led into the lounge. "Actually, I was thinking that we could go into town. There's this little Italian place that I really think you'll love. I know the owner, and I'm sure he'd be happy to give us a table".  
He was watching his girlfriend's face as he spoke, and he could see as the apprehension began to set in. "Kate, the restaurant is a very private place. We don't need to worry about people trying to disturb us while we're eating. Besides, I told the owner about you the last time I was up here. He expressed an interest in meeting the woman that managed to capture my heart so entirely. Besides, his wife and daughter both love Heat Wave. I know they'd love to meet the real-life inspiration for Nikki Heat".  
Kate nodded. She was still not entirely used to the idea of being seen in public as Richard Castle’s newest girlfriend, but she was fiercely, insanely, in love with him, and since he wanted to take her out on an actual date (even if it was just to the restaurant his friend owned)… well, what kind of person would she have been if she had said ‘no’? Catching up to her boyfriend as he passed through the living room, taking the keys from the stained glass bowl on the bench as he passed it, she slipped her arm through his, giving him a gentle smile. "Let's go eat".


	6. Chapter 6

It hadn’t taken them long to get to the small Italian restaurant in the village near the beach house that was owned by Rick’s friend, the two of them having elected to walk, holding hands, instead of driving. The writer knocked briskly at the oak door, and it was opened a couple of seconds later by a tall Italian man, who appeared to be maybe about five or six years older than Rick himself, and smiled welcomingly at the couple before pulling Rick into a hug. “It’s good to see you again, old friend. Ah, and this gorgeous woman with you is the much-discussed Detective Kate Beckett, correct?”  
He spoke perfect English, though the way his voice seemed to accent certain words made his natural Italian accent obvious. Kate blushed upon the man referring to her as gorgeous, and Rick smiled warmly, wrapping his arm around the detective’s waist and pulling her into his side. “That is indeed correct. Kate, I’d like you to meet Valentino Dicaprio, an old friend of mine. Tino, meet NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, my girlfriend”.  
Valentino nodded at the introduction, extending his hand towards Kate. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Detective”.  
She took it, smiling warmly as they shook hands. “Call me Kate. Right now I’m not really a detective, just a woman focusing on spending the summer with her boyfriend and enjoying every moment of it”.  
The Italian smiled warmly. “Of course, Kate. And in that case, call me Tino. I insist. Now, what can I do for the two of you today?”  
Rick smiled down at Kate. “We were hoping that you might have a table available for the two of us for dinner tonight. I told Kate about this restaurant and she agreed to try it”.  
His friend grinned and stood back, gesturing into the brightly lit interior of the restaurant behind him. “Of course, anything for a friend. Please, come in”.  
The couple followed him into the small restaurant, Kate noting that there were only one or two other couples sitting around the tables inside. Rick’s old friend led them over to the bar along the far wall, where a woman a couple of years older than Kate herself was wiping down glasses. “Val”.  
The woman looked up, smiling at Kate and Rick as they approached. “Richard Castle. Good to see you again. And this must be Kate Beckett”.  
She spoke perfect English, though there was a slight hint of an Italian accent, similar to the manner in which her husband spoke. Rick smiled easily. “That’s right, Val. Kate, I’d like you to introduce you to Valeria Dicaprio, Valentino’s wife. She makes the best lasagna in the area. Val, this is Kate Beckett, my girlfriend”.  
The Italian woman nodded, extending a hand to Kate, who shook it easily. “It truly is a pleasure to finally meet you, Kate. Rick talks about you a lot. Whenever he’s up here, in fact. To be totally honest, pretty much all he ever talks about while he’s up here is the captivating female detective who inspired him to create the Nikki Heat series. Now I can see why” she said cheerfully.  
Kate blushed again. She was all Rick ever talked about to these people? She must have had more of an effect on him the first time they met than she had ever realized, if that truly was the case (as it seemed to indeed be). “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Valeria”.  
“Call me Val, please”.  
Kate nodded. “Alright, Val”.  
“Glad we got that sorted out. Same order as usual, Rick?”  
Kate looked at Rick, who nodded. “Yes. Chicken parmigana, with a garden salad for a side”.  
He paused here, looking down at his girlfriend, who was still folded into his side. “And what about you, Kate?”  
Kate considered the question momentarily before giving her answer. “I think that I’d like to try the lasagna. Also with a garden salad for a side, please”.  
The Italian woman on the other side of the bar nodded. “Sure thing. Tino, would you mind showing them to Rick’s usual table while I get started on their meals please?”  
Rick’s old friend gave his wife a half-salute. “Of course. Rick, Kate, if you’d please follow me right this way”.  
“Rick!”  
They were interrupted by a teenage girl, who suddenly tackled the mystery writer, wrapping her arms around his waist and almost knocking him and Kate to the ground. Rick grinned at the girl, hugging her back. “Good to see you again, Leanna. I’d like you to meet someone very special to me. This is Kate Beckett, my extraordinary girlfriend and the inspiration for Nikki Heat. Kate, this is Leanna, Val and Tino’s daughter, who happens to be a big fan of Heat Wave”.  
The girl looked up at Kate, and the detective took a moment to study her features. Her skin was a perfect olive tan in color, similar to that of her parents, and her black hair hung in a loose ponytail down to just below her ears, though Kate reckoned that it would probably reach down to the bottom of her neck or perhaps even lower when it was untied, and the girl’s emerald green eyes sparkled cheerfully as she watched the detective. “Nice to meet you, Leanna”.  
The girl smiled back at her. “It’s a pleasure to finally have the opportunity to meet you. Rick’s told us so much about you. Heat Wave was absolutely brilliant, by the way, Rick”.  
As she spoke, Kate couldn’t help but note that, compared to her parents, her accent was almost non-existent. “Why thank you, Leanna. Hey, tell me. Did you pass your exams?”  
The girl laughed, and Kate couldn’t help but join in. “I don’t get my results until the end of summer, silly”.  
Rick grinned in response, and, as the young teenage girl was called away by her mother to help her in the kitchen, the writer and his girlfriend followed Valentino to their table.


	7. Chapter 7

“This is really, really, good, Rick. So, how did you find out about this place? That is, if you don’t mind me asking” Kate queried from her seat across the table from her boyfriend, taking another bite of her lasagna.   
Rick grinned. “Valentino and his family are old friends. Whenever my mother and I came up to the Hamptons, we would always be sure to come to this same restaurant. It used to be owned by Tino’s parents, and he took it over when he turned 26. He and Val had been married for three years by that point, and Leanna was born seven months after he took over. And, as it happens, Alexis and Leanna go to the same school, so that kind of helps” he replied.  
“I see. If you don’t mind me asking, have you ever brought anyone else here? Not counting Alexis and your mother, anyway?”  
Rick smiled at his girlfriend. “Apart from Alexis, my mother, and now you, Kate? No, I have never brought anyone else here. Kyra was never a fan of Italian food, for one thing. Meredith… well, she liked Italian food, it’s just that she liked shopping more. And as for Gina… It never really felt right to share this place with her. It’s always been a place where Alexis and I could come to just be alone, just the two of us, and I guess I just wanted things to stay that way for as long as possible”.  
“So then why bring me here at all? Surely that would be a bit counter-productive, what with this being you and Alexis’s special place” Kate queried.  
“Not at all, Kate. Just because I’ve never brought anyone else here, it doesn’t automatically mean that I was never going to. I think I always knew that, sooner or later, someone would come into my life who I would want to share this place with. And also to make new memories here, ones that don’t necessarily involve Alexis. Memories that involve you”  
And maybe, eventually, I’ll be able to share the rest of my life with you too. Rick mused to himself, reaching out to pick up his wine glass in one hand and tilting it towards the detective. “To making new memories”  
Kate smiled back, raising her own wine glass to ‘clink’ the edge gently against the glass in her boyfriend’s hand. “To making new memories” she echoed.  
They finished the rest of their lunch in a companionable silence, thanking Val and Tino for the food and promising to drop by again before walking out into the sunshine once more. Kate smiled at her boyfriend. “So, what do you want to do now?”  
Rick considered his answer carefully. “There’s a place near here that makes the most amazing ice cream. Almost every flavor you can think of”.  
Kate raised an eyebrow. “Almost every flavor?”  
“Almost, yes. Sound good?”  
Kate grinned. Her boyfriend knew exactly what she was thinking. “Lead the way”.  
~Around half an hour later~  
“I have to ask you something, Rick”.  
Rick glanced up, meeting his girlfriend’s eyes with his own blue ones. “Anything, Kate. You know that”.  
Kate smiled slightly. “Why me?”  
Rick looked confused. “I’m not sure what you mean”.  
Kate gestured to herself. “I mean: why choose me, Rick? I’m just a cop whose mother was murdered. I’m not really anyone special. Why would you fall in love with me when there are so many other women to fall in love with? Why would I even inspire you to write anything?”  
Rick’s eyes softened, and he reached across the small space between them, slipping his arm around his girlfriend’s waist and pulling her into his side. He placed a quick, chaste, kiss to her forehead before replying. “It’s simple, Kate. I fell in love with you because you are the most amazing, extraordinary, incredible woman I have ever met. Your dedication and focus to getting justice for those unable to get it themselves continues to amaze me every single day, and the way that you sympathize so brilliantly with the families of the deceased, even if the reason you can do so was due to a major tragedy in your life, is just inspirational. I’m in awe of you, to be honest”.  
Kate snuggled closer into her boyfriend’s side, smiling up at him. “And I’m in awe of you too, if I’m entirely truthful. You have a way with words that just… it blows my mind, to be honest. I could never do what you do”.  
“I’m honestly not so sure about that, Kate. You surprise me every day. Sooner or later, you might just surprise yourself too” he said quietly.  
Kate sighed softly. “We’ll see, Rick. We’ll see”.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just four Chapters to go, not counting this one!

“Anything in particular you’d like to do today?”  
Kate glanced up from the book she was reading to glance at her boyfriend, giving him the soft smile that she had begun to use more and more over the past couple of days, though still only seemed to use when talking to him or to someone that he had introduced her to. She watched with sparkling hazel eyes as he set a coffee cup down in front of her before seating himself, waiting until he was comfortably seated before responding. “Actually, I was kind of thinking maybe we could just stay around here today, if you don’t mind. I noticed you have an enormous collection of books in your study, so I could do some reading while you finish working on Naked Heat, then we could watch a movie together or go swimming or for a walk along the beach or something”.  
“That sounds good actually. Gina’s probably emailed me with any changes that she thinks should be made in order to improve the flow of the story, so I should probably get that done before she gets much more impatient. And from what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to be a gorgeous afternoon, so maybe we could spend the afternoon, or at least the later part of it, outside and watch the sunset from the back lawn by the pool?”  
Kate smiled in reply, leaning across the table to press a soft kiss to his lips before replying. “That sounds absolutely perfect”.  
~Two hours later~  
Rick glanced up from the Word Document open on his laptop and looked over in the direction of the easy chair along the nearest wall, where he knew his girlfriend was sitting. As he took in the sight in front of him, he smiled softly, silently marveling at how completely at ease the younger woman, the detective he still couldn’t entirely believe was actually there with him, seemed to have become ever since they had started dating just a few days before. She had curled herself up in the chair after pulling a book from the bookcase behind it, tucking her legs beneath her, and she was reading intently, her lips moving silently as she read to herself, one hand occasionally reaching up to brush a strand of her brown hair out of hazel eyes. God, she’s so beautiful when she’s relaxed. I mean, she’s amazingly beautiful even when she’s not relaxed, but there’s just something special about seeing her like this that makes me fall even more in love with her… Rick thought quietly. At that moment, almost as if she knew that he was watching her (and, being the amazing detective that she was, it would have surprised him if she didn’t), Kate spoke. “Staring’s still creepy as hell, Rick”  
Her boyfriend shrugged unapologetically. “I can’t help it if I find it hard to take my eyes off of my extraordinarily beautiful girlfriend who just so happens to also be my inspiration in both the fictional world and the real world”.  
Kate blushed, looking up briefly from the book in her lap to give her boyfriend a soft smile. “To be fair, you inspire me too, Rick. Just in a different way, that’s all”.  
“What would that way happen to be, Kate?” the author queried.  
Kate smiled secretively. “That is something we can discuss later. Right now, you have work to do on Naked Heat. And I have a book to read”.  
“So we’ll discuss it later then?”  
Kate rolled her eyes, though she couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend’s question. “Yes. Now, get writing, writer-boy. I’ll be right here when you’re done, I promise”  
“As you wish”  
Kate rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face as she turned her attention back to her book. Her boyfriend was definitely a goofball. But he was hers, and really that was all that mattered to her.  
The soft tapping of Rick’s fingers against his laptop’s keyboard filled the quiet room, and Beckett sighed softly, reaching up to put the book back on the shelf where she had taken it from before stretching out on the chair and closing her eyes. Perhaps she’d just take a quick nap…  
~Three hours later~  
Kate woke to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee and the gentle press of Rick’s lips to her forehead in a chaste kiss. She blinked twice, making sure that she was fully awake, and gave her boyfriend a soft smile. “Hey”.  
He smiled back at her. “Hey. Have a good sleep?”  
Kate nodded, gratefully accepting the coffee from her boyfriend as she sat up in the chair. “Yeah, I did thanks. My neck does hurt slightly though, but I suppose that’s just what happens when you fall asleep in a semi-uncomfortable position. How long was I asleep for, anyway?”  
“About three hours. You dozed off while I was writing, and you looked so adorable that I didn’t have the heart to wake you”.  
Kate raised an eyebrow. “And how long were you watching me sleep for?”  
“About one and a half hours. But I got all my writing done first”  
“Well, that’s good news. We wouldn't want Gina to threaten you for not getting the draft of Naked Heat to her on time, would we?” Kate queried.  
Rick shook his head. “Not at all, Kate. Not at all. Now, since it is officially afternoon, and I am done with my writing, how about we go for that swim, then a walk along the beach before watching the sunset from the back lawn?” he suggested, extending his hand to her.  
Kate smiled, taking his hand and letting her boyfriend pull her to her feet. “I don’t think I could come up with a better idea even if I wanted to”.


	9. Chapter 9

Kate sighed softly, shifting on the grass slightly to lean more into her boyfriend’s side, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. He smiled at the contact, leaning down to press a soft, chaste, kiss to her forehead. “I love you”  
“I love you too” she whispered back.  
Her boyfriend smiled softly, slipping an arm around her waist. She relaxed into his grip, enjoying their proximity to each other, the sense of closeness with someone she loved. I’m so glad I realized that my feelings for Rick ran deeper than friendship before he left… The last few days have been so absolutely amazing. It’s hard to think that, only five weeks ago, I would have turned down Rick’s invitation. What a stupid mistake that would have been. “Kate?”  
The gentle voice of her boyfriend broke the young detective from her thoughts, and she blinked twice, looking at the writer in surprise. “Sorry Rick, did you say something? I sort of zoned out there for a minute”.  
Rick laughed gently. His shoulders shook with the action, and Kate found herself enjoying the feeling. “I was just asking if you were alright. You just seemed to be deep in thought and I wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen asleep on me, that’s all”.  
The detective gave her boyfriend a soft smile, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. “Yeah, Rick, I’m alright. In fact, I’m more than alright”.  
“Damn right you are. You’re the most extraordinary woman I’ve ever met, Kate Beckett, and don’t you dare ever forget it” Rick replied softly, getting an appreciative smile from his girlfriend.  
Five minutes passed, during which the couple lay together on the grass, staring up at the slowly darkening sky, before Rick spoke again. “So, what were you thinking about? If you don’t mind me asking, anyway…”  
Kate considered the question for a couple of seconds before responding, her voice soft as she gave her answer. “No, I don’t mind… I was thinking about how much fun it’s been working with you so far, despite the fact that we didn’t really get along at first, how absolutely glad I am that I realized my feelings for you ran deeper than just friendship before you left at the end of that last case, and how happy I am to be here with you right now. Letting you walk away without telling you how I feel about you would have been the second greatest mistake I ever made”.  
“And what was the first?”  
“Not telling you sooner, of course”.  
She wriggled closer into his side, sighing softly in contentment. “You know, I can see why you love it up here. Beautiful view, your own private pool, the sheer proximity to the beach, plus the fact that it’s only a few hours away from the city though seems to be almost another world entirely”  
“And you say you’re not good with words, Kate… That’s exactly why I like it up here. Although… I have to admit that I’m happier right now than I have been every other time I’ve come up here” Rick said softly.  
Kate smiled. “I’d ask why, but I think we both know the answer to that question anyway”.  
Rick shrugged. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that. But do you want to know the answer anyway?”  
Kate laughed gently. “Sure, why are you happier right now than any other time you’ve come up here?”  
“I’m happier because you’re up here with me this time, Kate. It just means so much to me that you’re here right now”  
The detective gave him a gentle smile, pressing her lips against his in a soft, tender kiss. “There’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you at this moment, Rick”.  
There was a couple of seconds pause after Kate spoke as the writer considered the comment that his girlfriend had just made. Then Rick sighed, turning to meet his girlfriend’s eyes with his blue ones. “This may seem like a random question, and in fact it probably is, but it’s something I’m curious about anyway”.  
No surprises there Kate thought idly, before nodding. “Okay, what do you want to know?”  
“What was the first homicide case you worked after becoming a Detective?”  
Kate raised an eyebrow. “Looking for more backstory on Nikki Heat, Rick? Isn’t she enough like me already?” she questioned.  
“I’m not looking for more backstory on Nikki, no. In fact, I’m looking for backstory on the woman who inspired me to create her. On the extraordinary NYPD Homicide Detective who I honestly still can’t believe I am actually lucky enough to be able to call my girlfriend”.  
Kate couldn’t help but laugh. “You promise that absolutely none of this will end up in future Nikki Heat books?”  
The writer held up a hand. “Scout’s honor”  
Kate glared playfully at him, the amused gleam in her eyes dulling the effect slightly. “You were never a scout”  
Rick shrugged. “It’s true, I’ve never been a scout. But in all seriousness, Kate, I promise that none of what you say to me will end up in future Nikki Heat books”.  
“Well alright then. It started on a Monday morning in March 2004...”.


	10. Chapter 10

~March 15, 2004~  
The smell hit Kate’s nose as soon as she stepped through the door of the small apartment. Trying to keep her breaths as shallow as possible so that the smell didn’t affect her, she quickly made her way through the small living room over to where the dark-skinned medical examiner knelt beside the body of a young, red-haired, woman who looked to be almost exactly the same age as Kate herself. “What’ve we got, Lanie?” she queried.  
Her friend glanced up, meeting the detective’s hazel-green eyes for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the body. “Caucasian female, between 25 and 26 years old. Looks like her throat has been slit, probably at around 2:00 am this morning judging by body temperature, but I’ll be able to tell one way or another once I get her back to the morgue”.  
“Do we have an ID?”  
The medical examiner shook her head. “Not yet”.  
Kate sighed. “Then let’s hope we get one soon. The sooner we can start actually referring to the victim by name, the happier I’ll be”.  
Footsteps behind her and a cleared throat alerted her to the presence of one of the officers who had met her at the scene. She turned to the officer, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”  
She was somewhat impressed by the fact that the officer didn’t even flinch. “The apartment was registered to a Miss Cheryl Masters, a 25-year old student at Columbia and currently waitressing at a local coffee shop while waiting to complete her degree in art. However, none of her neighbors have seen or spoken to her for the past three days”  
“Thank you. Have CSU sweep the apartment to see if they can find anything that might be of use to us. And run a facial recognition program comparing Cheryl Masters’ face to that of our victim”.  
“Yes, Detective”  
And with those words, Kate turned and started walking towards the exit. She had a job to do.  
~Present day~  
Kate paused to take a breath, sighing deeply, running slender hands through her long brown hair and relaxing into her boyfriend’s side. “As much as I’d love to tell you the rest, Rick, it was a really long case and we’d probably be here all day if I did. Do you mind if I just skip to the end?”  
The writer leaned in, placing a soft kiss to his girlfriend’s cheek. Slipping his arms around her as she nuzzled into his neck, he smiled into her hair. “Whatever makes you most comfortable is fine by me, Kate”  
The younger woman smiled gently. “Alright then”  
~March 17, 2004~  
The brunette sank into the chair across the table from the slightly-older man, tossing a file lazily onto the interrogation room table between them and flicking it open. “Why’d you kill her, Elliot?”  
The older man looked nervous, and Kate smiled to herself, knowing he was probably going to be fairly easy to break. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about”.  
Kate rolled her eyes. “We checked your alibi for the night of Cheryl’s death, Elliot. Nice try, but it didn’t check out. Security camera footage in Cheryl’s building shows you entering and exiting her apartment within our half an hour window”.  
Still no reply. Kate reached into her jacket pocket, withdrawing an evidence bag containing a slender kitchen knife, and placed it on the table next to the file. “This is the knife used to slit Ms Master’s throat. You obviously didn’t do a very good job of hiding it. We found traces of her blood, and your DNA, all over it”.  
She paused for effect before jabbing a finger dramatically at a sheet of paper in the file. “And we also found a pack of sleeping pills, identical to the ones we found traces of in her coffee that had been used to knock her out before her murder, in your apartment. And guess how many were missing?”  
The man sitting across from her barely acknowledged the question. Kate smiled slightly, leaning in. “Exactly enough to knock a grown woman out. That’s how many were missing. So what happened, Elliot? She got sick of your cheating and confronted you, you offered her a cup of coffee laced with crushed sleeping pills as way of apology and then, when she was knocked out and helpless on the couch, you slit her throat?”  
“She was going to break up with me!”  
Sitting back in her chair, Kate smirked. Good. Keep him talking. “And you couldn’t have that, could you?”  
“I couldn’t let her leave me like that! If I couldn’t have her…”  
He trailed off, realizing he had just given the brunette detective all the information she needed. Kate smiled grimly, finishing his sentence for him. “Then nobody could, right?”  
She stood. “Elliot Harper, you’re under arrest for the murder of Cheryl Masters. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”  
~Five minutes later~  
Kate brushed a strand of her hair from her eyes before knocking at the door to the Captain’s office. “Come in”.  
She did so, closing the door behind her. The dark-skinned man behind the desk looked up, smiling at her. “Detective. I heard you closed the Masters case”.  
She nodded. “That’s correct, sir. It was the boyfriend. He was cheating on her, she found out and confronted him, he put sleeping pills in her coffee and then slit her throat when she fell unconscious”.  
Roy Montgomery nodded. “I see. Good work on your first case as a Detective. I don’t often say this, but I think you’ll do very well here”.  
Kate’s smile widened. “Thank you, sir”.  
“Is there anything else, Detective?”  
Kate paused, thinking. “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to take tomorrow off. There’s a book signing downtown that I want to go to, and I’d like to spend a bit of time with my dad as well. I haven’t had time to talk to him lately”.  
The Captain considered it for a few seconds, before nodding. “Get your paperwork done, Detective, and then go home. I’ll see you in two days”.  
Kate smiled again. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir”.  
“You’re welcome. Now, go”.  
And with that, Kate turned and strode from the room, closing the door behind her.  
~Present day~  
“So there you have it. That’s the story of the first case I worked as a Detective, Rick” Kate said quietly, snuggling further into her boyfriend’s side.  
He smiled at the gesture, placing a gentle kiss to her lips. “It sounds like it was quite the case”.  
She smiled in response, kissing him back. “It was. It really was”.  
He reached out, tucking a strand of her dark brown hair behind an ear with a gentle hand. Feather-light lips brushed against her cheek, and he whispered “Do you want to know what amazes me most about you?”  
“What?”  
“Every single little detail, believe it or not. I never actually thought I’d get to say this, but I never thought I’d get to fall in love with someone like you. Honestly, every time I see you, every time I learn something I didn’t already know about you, it just makes me fall in love with you a little more, and reminds me that every day I bring you a cup of coffee just so that I can put a smile on your face, just because you are the most amazing, frustrating, challenging, remarkable, person I have ever met. And I love you, Kate. I really do mean that”.  
Kate sat stunned for a second, before sitting up, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s neck, and pressing her lips to his in a fiery kiss. “I love you too, Rick. And, honestly, it scares me because I’ve never felt this deeply for anyone in my life” she whispered back.  
Before things progressed any further, Rick stood, pulling Kate to her feet and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “Let’s continue this somewhere a bit more private, shall we?”  
Kate smiled softly at him, accepting his hand. “Let’s”.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last main chapter! The Epilogue will be up tomorrow!

~12 hours later~  
Kate sighed in satisfaction, snuggling further into her boyfriend’s embrace as the pair looked out over the water from the swinging chair on the balcony, watching the sun rise slowly above the horizon. “This is almost… it’s magical, really. I’m so glad we got up early for this”.  
“There really is no better place to watch the sunrise from” her boyfriend mused quietly, one of his arms draped over her shoulder and the other resting on the armrest of the chair.  
Kate turned her head slightly, leaning up to give him a quick kiss to his cheek. “I agree. It’s also nice just not to have to worry about work when I wake up in the morning on a weekday for once. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Rick. I love my job and everything it involves, I really do. But there are days where I would rather stay in bed with a glass of wine and a good book than get up and go to work, especially on days where we don’t have cases and are just doing paperwork”.  
“I have days like that myself” her boyfriend agreed softly.  
She laughed, poking him playfully in the shoulder. “Yeah, well, you can afford to have days where you do nothing, in case you’d forgotten. In fact, you quite frequently do have days where you do absolutely nothing”.  
The writer clutched his shoulder, an expression of mock outrage on his face. “I am offended by that, I genuinely am”.  
With a loving roll of her eyes, she shifted more so that she was laying down in his arms, burrowing her head into the crook of his neck. She exhaled softly, watching with satisfaction the goosebumps that formed on his slightly cooler skin as it was warmed by her breath. He chuckled softly, and she felt the sound reverberate through her entire body due to how close together their bodies were. “Whatever you say, babe” she muttered softly.  
She felt him stiffen for a second, and she pulled away from him slightly, so she could look him in the eyes, giving him a concerned look. “Are you okay?”  
He nodded. Leaning in and pressing a soft and reassuring kiss to her lips, giving her a soft smile. “I’m okay, Kate. You just caught me off guard when you called me babe, I guess. I never really thought that you of all people would be a fan of pet names”.  
Satisfied with that answer, she burrowed back against his neck, muttering something that sounded like “guess there’s even more layers to the Beckett onion than you thought there were”.  
She sighed softly, relishing the feeling of his arms immediately slipping around her to hold her in place, before closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.  
The writer gave a satisfied smile, brushing some loose strands of her dark brown hair away from her face and pressing a light kiss to her forehead before leaning back against the back of the chair and staring out at the water again.  
-A couple of hours later-  
Kate woke to the press of soft lips against her forehead, and the sound of birds chirping in the clear blue sky overhead. She pushed herself up for a minute to get her bearings, smiling as she remembered that the arms wrapped around her belonged to her boyfriend, the writer Richard Castle, and they were sitting on the swing chair on the balcony of his beach house. She turned her head slightly, smiling at the blue-eyed man next to her. “Hey”  
“Hi” he whispered back.  
“How long was I asleep for?”  
The writer shifted one arm, so he could read the time from his watch before moving it back to where it had been. “Not too long. Just a couple of hours. I was going to wake you up about half an hour ago, so we could go get some breakfast, but you looked so content I didn’t want to disturb you”.  
“Well, Rick, this has been such a lovely few days that it’s almost impossible not to feel content and relaxed like this” Kate said, smiling warmly at her boyfriend.  
“I’m glad to hear it. I know I’ve said it several times over the last few days, but I really am glad that you agreed to come up here and spend the holidays with me. I know you were originally planning to only come up for Memorial Weekend, but I’m really glad that you changed your mind and decided to stay up here and give me the pleasure of your company for the whole summer”.  
“I’m glad I changed my mind too. As important as my job is to me, I really did need to unwind and de-stress a bit. And besides, the Captain did point out to me that I had way too many unused vacation days and that if I didn’t use them sooner or later he’d put me on paid leave until I used enough days for him to be satisfied. And accepting your invitation to spend the summer out here with you just so happened to be the most satisfying way to use those days”.  
“Agreed. The most satisfying way to spend the summer, for both of us” the writer said quietly in agreement.  
The detective curled into his side once more so that she was laying half on his lap and half off with his hands around her waist supporting her and her legs stretched out across the remaining length of the chair, musing quietly that it had been a long time since she’d ever felt comfortable enough in a relationship with anybody to be that cuddly with them, and an even longer time since she’d felt comfortable enough with someone to willingly agree to spend the next three months alone with them. If she felt comfortable enough in her relationship with Rick to agree to something like that almost immediately, then that could only mean some very good things for the future. Some very good things indeed. And if it was going to be anywhere near as amazing as the past few days had been, then she was, wholeheartedly, looking forward to it.


	12. Epilogue

~Six months later~  
It was strange how much she missed waking up in the same bed as the writer every morning, considering how independent she usually was. After returning to New York three months before, the two of them had informed Captain Montgomery of the change in their relationship and he had told them that he would have no problem with the two of them continuing to work together, if they were able to keep their relationship strictly professional, or at the very least semi-professional, while working. Though her boyfriend had originally made a joking comment suggesting that she had a long history of coming on to him while they were working, they had agreed, and things were going well. Apart from the fact that she missed being in the same bed as him. Hell, she missed living with him, full stop. A gentle hand on her shoulder and the smell of her favorite coffee broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see the smiling face of the writer she had just been thinking about. A soft smile, the one she only used for him, played across her features. “Hi”.  
“Hey”.  
She gratefully accepted the takeout cup of coffee her boyfriend was offering to her, taking a small sip and barely suppressing a contented groan as the steaming liquid flowed down her throat. Her boyfriend slipped into his usual chair next to her desk, setting his own cup of coffee on the desk next to hers, being careful to leave just enough space between the two cups so they wouldn’t confuse the other’s drink for their own. “What are we working on today?”  
She gestured to the files that lay open on her desk. “Finishing up paperwork from the Donny Hayes case. I know it’s not usually your thing, but do you want to stay and help since you came all the way down here?”  
Instead of getting up to leave, Rick nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. “Alright. Pass me a file, then, and let’s get to work”.  
Kate nodded, taking the first file from the top of the pile next to her and giving it to him. “Stick to the details. No grand stories. Keep it simple and detective-like”.  
“You have my word, Kate, I won’t include any unnecessary details”.  
“Including that you now own the victim’s bar. That might just be a little too much information” his girlfriend reminded him, smirking slightly.  
“Of course,” the writer agreed, before taking a pen from his pocket and starting to write.  
A small smile playing across her lips, Kate watched him thoughtfully for a few minutes, enjoying the view of his brow furrowing as he worked and the way that his hand methodically moved the pen across the page, before turning her attention back to her own files. They worked in silence together for a while, the writer only breaking the silence fifteen minutes or so later to ask for clarification on something before getting back to the file he was working on once he had the answer, before he set the file down on her desk and got to his feet. “I’m done. I’m going to walk down to the gym and get a little exercise in. Would you care to join me, Detective Beckett?”  
Kate considered the question for a minute before nodding and getting to her feet as well. “Sure, why not?”  
~That night~  
“Why don’t you pick a movie for us, Kate? I just need to grab something from the study, I’ll be back out in a few minutes” Rick smiled.  
His girlfriend nodded, curling her feet to the side on the leather couch. “Sounds good. Any preferences?”  
Rick shook his head, already part of the way towards the door that separated his study from the lounge where the two of them were currently sitting. Turning, he smiled at the detective. “No preferences whatsoever. Surprise me”.  
“Now that, I can do”.  
Rick stepped through the door into his study, closing it behind him and crossing the room to his desk. Quickly opening a drawer and taking out a small cardboard box, he glanced into it briefly to make sure the contents were still secure before tucking it into his pocket and heading for the door to rejoin his girlfriend. Sinking into the couch beside her, as she curled herself into his side, he looked down at her. “I have something for you”.  
She lifted her head slightly, looking up at him in slight confusion. “Oh?”  
Slipping the small box from his pocket and into his hand, he opened it to reveal two keys, one identical to the key he had used to unlock the loft door only an hour before, and another that she didn’t quite recognize. Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked up at him, tears pooling in her eyes and causing them to shimmer when they caught the light. “Kate. Once the renovations are done to the basement of The Old Haunt, the main room there will be turned into a private room, just for me. And, if you’ll accept this copy of my key, for you” he said softly, indicating the key that she hadn’t recognized. “Of course, I’ll accept it”.  
She smiled, gently kissing him before taking the indicated key and slipping it into her pocket. “And the loft key?”  
He smiled. Kate was sure she knew what he was going to say already, but she wanted to wait just to be sure. “Kate. One of the things I have missed the most these last three months was going to sleep in the same bed as you every night and waking up in the same bed together every morning”.  
“I’ve missed that too…” she whispered.  
“Good. In that case… Kate, will you move in with me?” he queried, offering her the loft key.  
She shifted to allow herself better access to his mouth, and then she kissed him. Hard. When she finally pulled away, her eyes were sparkling brilliantly, and she was beaming with joy. “Yes. Yes, I’d be delighted to move in with you, Rick”.


End file.
